Garment bag



May 14, 1957 J. P. BARNES ETAL v 2,792,107

GARMENT BAG Filed March 17, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 1 myn/T0125 gm fait?, azrzs By more uwer/mm May 14, 1957 J. P. BARNES ETAL 2,792,107

GARMENT BAG Filed March 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TORS Jlzn P01155 ,Barnes BYE/more Zzmmermdrz Horneys GARMENT BAG John Potts Barnes, Evanston, and Elmore Zimmerman, Elmhurst, Ill.; said Zimmerman assignor te said Barnes Application March 17, 1955, Serial No. 494,930

2 Claims. (Cl. 2067) One principal object of the invention is to provide a new and improved garment bag which is collapsible so that a large number of the bags may be held in a magazine, from which they may readily be removed, one by one, and immediately slipped over a garment.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of making a collapsible and expandable garment bag of the foregoing character.

lt is another important object of the invention to provide a new and improved collapsible bag which can easily and quickly be slipped over a garment held on la hanger, even when the bag is used singly.

A further object is to provide a collapsible and expandable garment bag which will t snugly over a garment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved collapsible and expandable garment bag which will, when expanded, resemble conventional bags now in commercial use :andhence will find ready acceptance in the market.

Another object is to provide a new and improved method of making and folding `a flat envelope-type bag so that it may be collapsed for storage in a dispensing magazine.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken with the [accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is an elevational view showing a plurality of collapsed bags contained in a magazine, `and adapted to be dispensed directly from the magazine so as t'o cover the illustrated garment, the magazine being shown partly in section.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of an exemplary bag, constituting an illustrative embodiment of the invention, shown in expanded condition and in place over the garment, the bag having been dispensed from Vthe magazine.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the exemplary bag in partially expanded condition. l

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the bag in collapsed position.

Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of the bag in collapsed position, taken generally along lines 5 5 and 6 6 in Fig. 4.

Figs. 7 and. 8 are fragmentary sectional viewsV of lthe bag in partially expanded condition, the views being .taken generally along lines 7 7 and 8 8 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the bag in expanded position, the View being taken generally along a line 9 9 in Fig. 2.

lf the drawings are considered in greater detail it will be seen that Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary garment bag 10 which is collapsible and expandable but is shown in fully expanded position and in place over a garment 12, which in this case is a coat. It will be seen that the garment bag 10, when expanded, resembles conventional garment bags now in commercial use. Thus the garment bag 10 is in the form of a simple flat envelope comprising front and rear side panels 14 which are joined at their nited States PatentO Mice lateral edges by simple, single, vertical folds 16. Thus the panels 14 define a simple flat tubular element 18 forming the body of the garment bag 10. The bag 10 is made of paper or other sheet material.

At its upper end, the garment bag 10 is provided with a closure 20, which is formed in this instance simply by folding over the upper corner portions 22 of the tubular body 18. lt will be seen that the corner portions 22 are in the form of triangular panels which, as shown, are folded forwardly along diagonal fold lines 24 and are glued or otherwise aixed to the front panel 14. A central opening 26 is left between the closure panels 22 to admit a garment hanger 28. As shown, the hanger 28 is of the conventional type having a triangular frame 30 formed with a stem 32 which terminates in a hook 34. The opening 26 is formed in the bag 10 so that the stem 32 and the hook 34 may project upwardly from Within the bag.

The exemplary bag 10 is adapted to be collapsed longitudinally, to the position shown in Figs. 4-6. A plurality of the collapsed bags 10 may be stored in a suitable dispensing magazine 36, which, however, in itself forms no part of the present invention. Nevertheless, it will be of interest to note that the magazine 36, with its load of bags 10, is adapted to be threaded upwardly over a vcrtical rod 38 suspended from a ceiling 40 or other overhead support. A hook 42 is formed at the lower end of the rod 38 to receive the garment hanger 28. Suitable retaining members 44 are provided to hold the magazine 36 in its overhead position.

With the dispensing arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2, one of the collapsed bags 1t) may be pulled out of the lower end of the magazine, which is formed with an opening 46 for this purpose. The garment bag 10 may be pulled downwardly over the rod 38 and slipped directly over the garment 12. As the bag 10 is moved over the garment 12, it is expanded from its fully collapsed position to the fully expanded condition shown in Fig. 2.

It will be realized that the rod 38 is threaded through the central openings 26 of all of the garment bags 10 carried in the magazine 36. Thus all of the collapsed bags 10 are slipped on the rod 38 at one time, when the magazine 36 is elevated to the position shown in Fig. 1. Accordingly, it is not necessary to thread the bags one at a time over the rod, as is the usual commercial practice at present. Thus the magazine arrangement greatly facilitates and expedites the bagging of garments. It is preferable that the magazine 36 be made of corrugated cardboard or other expendable material so that the maga zine may also be used as the usual shipping container for the collapsed bags 10.

Each of the bags 10 is collapsed by folding the front and rear side panels 14 outwardly so as to define a plurality of vertically tiered or superimposed pleats 48. The side folds 16 are simultaneously tucked inwardly to form a series of tucks 50 which are aligned with the pleats 48. The ple-ats 48 in the front and rear panels 14 are also aligned with each other.

It will be evident from Figs. 2, 3 and 4 that each of the pleats 4S comprises a pair of panel elements 52 in the shape of an equilateral trapezoid. The outer edges of the panels S2 of each pleat 48 are joined along a simple horizontal fold 54. Likewise, the inner edges of adjacent pleats are joined by single horizontal folds 56.

Form Figs. 3 an-d 4 it will be seen that the tucks 50 comprise pairs of triangular panels 58 which are bisected by elements of the side folds 16. When the bag 10 is fully collapsed, the side folds 16 are completely flattened. The bases or inner edges of the triangular panels 58 are joined by simple folds 60, which are perfectly straight when the bag 10 is fully collapsed. The folds 60 bulge outwardly as the bag 10 is expanded and finally are completely flattened when the bag assumes the fully expanded position shown in Fig. 2.

When the bag is fully collapsed, it is of hexagonal shape in its plan view, as clearly indicated in Fig. 4. In the flattened bag, the superimposed -tucks S0 form V- shaped points 62 at the opposite side edges of the bag. 'hes points 62 project laterally outwardly, las shown in At the upper end of the bag 10, the closure Iis flattened into a pair of symmetrical, curved, generally bowshaped horizontal pleats 64 on opposite sides of the folds 24. These folds 24 are flattened, in the manner shown in Figs. 3-6, when the bag 10 is fully collapsed. Thus the opening 26 through the top of the bag 10 is centrally disposed when the bag is collapsed. Beneath the opening 26, an opening 66 extends between the flattened pleats 48. The curved pleats 64 are important in that they permit complete flattening of the sloping top of the garment bag.

It will be evident that a considerable number of the flattened bags 10 may be stacked in the magazine 36 with all of the openings 26 and 66 aligned. Thus all of the bags, along with the magazine, may be threaded upwardly along the hanger rod 38. In order that this may be done, the magazine 36 is formed with an opening 68, which is aligned with the openings 26 and 66 in the bags. At the lower end of the magazine 36, flanges 70 may be formed around the dispensing aperture 46 to prevent the attened bags from falling out of the magazine.

When the coat 12 or other garment is to be bagged, it is mounted on the garment hanger 28, which is then hung on the hooked lower end 42 of the rod 38. The lowermost bag 10 in the magazine 36 is removed by pulling the lowermost portion of the bag downwardly through the opening 46 until the bag is pulled free of the flanges 70. The bag 10 is then slid down the rod 38 and expanded over the garment 12. The hook 34 on the garment hanger passes upwardly through the opening 26 in the bag.

As each flattened bag 10 is removed from the magazine 36 the remaining bags move downwardly against the flanges 70 by gravity so that another bag is immediately available at the bottom of the magazine. Numerous bags are thereby made readily available before it becomes necessary to change the magazine.

It will be evident that the bag 10 is of such form, when fully expanded, that it will lit snugly over the usual garment. With its flat tubular body and sloping closure, the bag resembles the present bags now in commercial use, and hence will readily be accepted in the trade. The pleats and tucks, whereby the bag may be collapsed, are

formed without providing any extra paper or other sheet material in the bag. Thus, the collapsible and expandable bags of the present invention may be made at very little extra cost over that of conventional bags.

The collapsible bag of the present invention can be slipped over a garment much more readily and quickly than conventional bags. This is true even if the collapsible bag is used singly, as in the case of conventional bags. In other words, the qualities of quick and easy handling are inherent in the collapsible bag, and are not dependent entirely on the use of a magazine to feed the bags.

Various modifications, alternative constructions, and

equivalents may be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined in the following claims:

We claim:

l. A collapsible and expandable flat two-sided bag, comprising an envelope of sheet material, said envelope when expanded comprising ilat Vtubular side wall means consisting of a pair of side wall panels joined by single side folds at their lateral edges, said envelope when expanded also comprising sloping closure means joining said side wall panels at one end thereof and defined by flat diagonally folded over end portions of said side wall panels, said bag in its collapsed position having its side wall panels formed into a plurality of longitudinally superimposed pleats, said pleats being flattened when said envelope is collapsed, said side folds and portions of said side panels adjacent the edges `thereof having inwardly folded flattened tucks formed therein when said bag is collapsed, said tucks being aligned with said pleats, said closure means having a pair of outwardly folded curved pleat elements assuming flattened positions with said envelope collapsed, said envelope when collapsed being of hexagonal shape in plan view with said tucks and pleats defining sharp V-shaped points at the opposite sides of said envelope and terminating in the side edges thereof, said tucks when collapsed comprising adjacent triangular panel elements bisected by said single folds with said single folds flattened, said triangular panel elements being joined at their inner edges by single folds, said pleats when collapsed comprising 'adjacent panel elements of equilateral trapezoidal shape with the outer edges thereof joined by single folds and with the inner edges of adjacent pleats likewise joined by single folds.

2. A collapsible and expandable at two-sided garment bag, comprising a tubular body of sheet material, said body consisting of a pair of side wall panels joined by single folds at their lateral edges with said bag expanded, said panels being at and adjacent each other with said bag expanded, said panels being joined at one end to form a closed end on said bag, said bag in its collapsed position having its side wall panels formed into a plurality of longitudinally superimposed outwardly folded pleats, said side folds and portions of said side panels adjacent the edges thereof having inwardly folded triangular tucks aligned with said pleats, said tucks and pleats defining sharp V-shaped triangular points extending laterally outwardly at the opposite sides of said bag and terminating in the side edges of said bag, said tucks when collapsed comprising adjacent triangular panel elements bisected by said side folds with said side folds flattened, said triangular panel elements being joined at their inner edges by simple folds, said pleats when collapsed comprising adjacent panel elements of equilateral trapezoidal shape with the outer edges thereof joined by simple folds and with the inner edges of adjacent pleats likewise joined by simple folds.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,838,704 Potdevin Dec. 29, 1931 2,432,524 Johnston Dec. 16, 1947 2,700,327 Foster Ian. 25. 1955 

